Powercom Park report 2006-06-14

POWER SURGE: Haudenschild Slides To World of Outlaws Sprint Series Win At
Powercom Park
Jac Haudenschild certainly did not forget how to win at The Raceway at
Powercom Park. It had been a while since he won at the track -- 1998
to be exact. On...

POWER SURGE: Haudenschild Slides To World of Outlaws Sprint Series Win At
Powercom Park

Jac Haudenschild certainly did not forget how to win at The Raceway at
Powercom Park. It had been a while since he won at the track -- 1998
to be exact. On Wednesday night, the driver of the Wright One
Construction Maxim posted his second World of Outlaws Sprint Series
feature win at the racy 1/3-mile oval and his third victory overall this
season.

Haudenschild looked for a way around pole-sitter Donny Schatz and the
ParkerStore J&J in the early going and finally found the opening he
needed on Lap 28 of the 40-lap event. Haudenschild slid around Schatz in
traffic on the low side. Schatz fought back, giving it everything he had
in the closing laps. Twice he pulled up to Haudenschild's back
bumper despite battling a broken torsion stop on his machine.

Haudenschild used a couple of late restarts to show off the horsepower in
his Paul Kistler motor and secure the victory with Schatz in second.
Craig Dollansky was third in the Karavan Trailers Maxim, with Daryn
Pittman in the Titan Garages & Carports Maxim and Sammy Swindell in the
Big Game Treestands Eagle rounding out the top five.

"The car felt good tonight," said Haudenschild, of Wooster,
Ohio, whose first victory with crew chief Bonzai Bruns also came at
Powercom in 1998. "It was a real good race track. It feels very
good to win a race. We ran in traffic most of the race and the car felt
good in it. The guys had this car running very good."

For Haudenschild, it was his first win of the year on a 1/3-mile track.
His previous two victories came at U.S. 36 Raceway in Osborn, Mo., and
Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, both 3/8-mile tracks. He now has 43
career World of Outlaws A-feature wins, which puts him ninth place
all-time, only three wins out of the eighth spot.

Haudenschild is known for running the high line, but on Wednesday night
he used a move on the low side in traffic to make the winning pass. He
certainly used every inch of the track early in the race, as he looked
high and low, far and wide, for a way around Schatz. For the first 27
laps, he shadowed the current championship points leader, plotting when
and where he would make his move.

"The cushion was a little rough out there in Turns 1 and 2, but the
rest of the track was pretty smooth," Haudenschild said. "It
was a real nice race track."

A flip by Chad Blonde on Lap 15 led to an open red flag period. After
restarting with a car between him and Schatz, Haudenschild quickly
disposed of the slower car and again set his sights on the leader.

"We changed the car around a little bit during the red and got it a
little bit better," Haudenschild said.

With 12 top-five finishes this season, second only to Schatz,
Haudenschild and his team are clicking on all cylinders. Though he has
never won at half-mile Red River Valley Speedway -- where the World
of Outlaws will battle the All Star Circuit of Champions as well as the
Northern Outlaw Sprint Association in the Duel in the Dakotas on Friday
and Saturday -- he has run well there in the past and knows what it
will take to find victory lane at the high-speed, high-banked half-mile.

"We feel real good going to Fargo," Haudenschild said.
"We'll head that way, and hopefully we can get a win there
too."

Schatz's runner-up finish was his series leading 15th top-five as
the North Dakota native returns home to compete at Red River Valley
Speedway in West Fargo. He led the first 27 laps on Wednesday, giving him
a series-high 139 laps led this season. He also won the dash to earn the
top starting spot in the 40-lap event.

"I'd be lying to you if I told you we felt good,"
Schatz said. "We have a problem somewhere and the race car is not
rolling like it should. I guess that's the way it goes. We've
had a good racecar for a while. Now we just have to find out what is
wrong. We have a problem to fix."

Schatz continued his astounding streak of finishes at the front of the
field dating back to May 24 at The Dirt Track at Lowe's Motor
Speedway. In that span, Schatz has not finished worse than seventh.

"I think we were good enough to win the race," Schatz said,
who despite all of his success this season started from the pole for the
first time in 2006. "I got myself caught in lapped traffic. We had
a right front torsion stop break and had the car drop down. We got lucky
to get another red flag to work on it. It's a points night, and
that's not where we want to be. What can you say, it's over
with."

Schatz knows that going into Red River Valley Speedway, the crowd will be
behind him, which comes with added pressure to win.

"I was trying to win the race, that's what I'm here
for," Schatz said. "I was not going to settle back and finish
second. Winning is what pays the bills here. We just have to keep
focusing on winning. The guys keep working hard to fix everything.
We'll get it."

Craig Dollansky continued his strong run of top-five finishes by
finishing third for the third consecutive night. In fact, since picking
up his second win of the season on June 3 at Eldora Speedway, the native
of Elk River, Minn., has finished third or better.

After setting quick time in qualifying, Dollansky was fifth in the dash
and battled not only the frontrunners, but also lapped traffic as the
leaders set a blistering pace on the 1/3-mile.

"We needed the race to go close to non-stop or get into lapped
traffic," Dollansky said. "We got a little bit loose the last
15 laps. We got up there to third and it was a good run for the Karavan
team."

The race was a homecoming of sorts for Dollansky's team, which is
based nearby The Raceway at Powercom Park. Many fans in the stands were
cheering for Dollansky's No. 7 machine and waiting in the pit area
after the checkered flag waved to talk to the always cordial driver.

"We have a lot of great friends and fans around here,"
Dollansky said. "It's great to have a good run here. We would
have loved to have picked up a win for everyone, but we came up a couple
spots short. We'll get ready to go to Fargo. We feel real good
about things right now. The racecar is working well. We've had good
success up there and we always enjoy going there."

Daryn Pittman, coming off of a sweep at the Eagle Nationals, was fourth
on Wednesday after gaining a couple of spots late in the race.

"We got better the longer the race went," Pittman said.
"That seems to be typical for us, we seem to run better on longer
runs. It was a good finish for us. Obviously, not a win but another
top-five. It was a good points night, and we need to start separating
ourselves a little bit if we can. All in all, it was a good night."

Pittman is eager to get to Fargo and compete on another fast half-mile.
Having picked up that elusive first win of the season at the Eagle
Nationals, he has plenty of momentum on his side.

"We've been very steady," Pittman said.
"We're looking forward to getting back to Fargo. I feel like
we still have a little bit of work to do on some half-mile stuff. We have
some stuff that we are getting better at. That will be a good test before
we go to Knoxville."

Sammy Swindell, filling in for the injured Terry McCarl in the Big Game
Treestands Eagle, worked his way from the 13th to finish fifth. Swindell
won the B-Main to transfer to the 40-lap feature.

"We found a few things with the car that made it a lot
better," Swindell said. "It's a new car and we have
been searching a little bit for it. We found a couple of things that we
put on after the B-Main. We didn't have time to do it before then.
It was kind of a shot in the dark, and we didn't have time to try
everything. It was fast though. Terry has a good car. We just have to get
a few things sorted out and get in the right place."

Swindell, a three-time World of Outlaws Champion, was pleased with his
run, but like a true racer lamented on what could have been.

"Not making it through the heat hurt us," Swindell said.
"We had to start in the back of the feature. I think if we would
have started up front we would have gained a few more spots. I
don't know if we could have won, but we could have been in the
top-three."

Joey Saldana finished sixth in the Mopar-powered Dodge/Curb Records JEI,
followed by All Star Circuit of Champions points leader Greg Wilson in
the All-Star Plumbing Maxim. Randy Hannagan was eighth in the Penthouse
Maxim with rookie Justin Henderson in the Jolt Energy Gum Protected By
Data Dots Schnee and Chad Kemenah in the Underground Utilities Inc. Eagle
rounding out the top-10.

After packing up at The Raceway at Powercom Park, the Mean 15 drivers
head west for the Duel in the Dakotas on Friday and Saturday at Red River
Valley Speedway in West Fargo, N.D.